IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati Under Siege, Roselyn Akombe Tells BBC

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Commissioner Dr Roselyn Akombe, who announced her resignation from the agency on Wednesday says that Chairperson Wafula Chebukati is a man "under siege."

In a resignation statement sent from New York on Wednesday morning, Dr Akombe said she felt unsafe, and that the Electoral Commission cannot hold a credible election on October 26th.

In an interview with BBC Newsday programme on Wednesday, she appeared to suggest that IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati has been incapacitated as the head of the electoral commission.

“Chairman Chebukati is a very well-meaning person. He has a temperament to be able to be a leader, but he is a leader under a siege,” said Dr Akombe.

Asked whether the Chebukati has the zeal to overcome the challenges facing the electoral commission, Akombe said: “Well, if he was much more firm, I think probably we would have gone much far. There are aspects of his character that are helpful in a situation like we are in. But there are times he just needs firmness to be able to move on,”.

On whether IEBC has the capability to hold a credible poll, Akombe sais that, as currently constituted, the commission has no ability to so.

“Can Kenya hold election? Yes. Will it be a credible election? Absolutely not,” Dr Akombe told the BBC.

In her resignation statement, she cited last-minute instructions on changes in technology, attacks on electoral officials and the rushed training on poll officials.

“The commission in its current state can surely not guarantee a credible election on 26 October 2017,” she said.

“I do not want to be party to such a mockery to electoral integrity.”